In many societies, the nuclear family has always been thought of as the standardized norm with regards to being the ideal way to raise children. However, this standard notion is changing in certain societies and communities. Although there is a firm belief that the nuclear family unit is considered one of the most common family units among families, Carol Stacks argues that in the poor African-American communities, nuclear families is not very viable due to poverty, lack of increased social-economic status and due to the high proportion of single mothers living in this community. Carol Stacks also argues that relationships and survival are based on systems involving reciprocity and that these set of relationships are constructed through the
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33). However through systems involving reciprocity, this system ensures survival for people of these communities (Stack, 1974, p. 33). In Stacks argument, she refers to reciprocity as “swapping”. This means that people in the community give and share items or necessities that they have based on the principal that if they give something, they get something in return (Stack, 1974, p. 34). Swapping takes place among the majority of women related to each other in these communities and represents a pledge, loan, trust given on the condition that something will be returned (Stack, 1974, p. 34). If one of their kin did not return the service offered, then they were no longer part of the same kin-network (Stack, 1974, p. 34). This is considered a disadvantage among people in these communities because “swapping” is their main mode of survival. In the chapter on “swapping”, Stacks gives an example of what happens when one gives but does not receive in their kin-network. She mentions that people are judged harshly which promotes gossip and, as a result, will stop giving to that kin (Stack, 1974, p. 34). The more one trusts and gives, the more social networks one creates in the community and the …show more content…
In Carol Stacks article, she mentions that as a result of poverty and lack of high social-economic status, people from these communities have to trade and give away their scarce recourses (Stack, 1974, p.33). According to Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s argument discussed in class, this is because these types of African-American communities they exhibit certain attitudes like the inability to plan their future (Fox, 2015). Therefore, they are in these positions of poverty (Fox, 2015). Inability to plan ones future, leads to the unlikelihood that one will get upper years worth of education and persistent employment (Fox, 2015). These types of behaviors are producing alternative family patterns and set of relationships such as “swapping” that separates them from a nuclear-family unit (Fox 2015). He argues that this set of family patterns is passed onto children who pass it onto further generations and, therefore, it becomes a cycle of poverty (Fox, 2015). Another reason why the nuclear-family unit is not viable in the African-American community is because the communities are mainly single mothers supporting their children (Stack, 1974, p. 33). This is because social-economic pressures on male and female relationships are huge and therefore relationships between young, unmarried adults are unstable (Stack, 1974, p. 50).
33). However through systems involving reciprocity, this system ensures survival for people of these communities (Stack, 1974, p. 33). In Stacks argument, she refers to reciprocity as “swapping”. This means that people in the community give and share items or necessities that they have based on the principal that if they give something, they get something in return (Stack, 1974, p. 34). Swapping takes place among the majority of women related to each other in these communities and represents a pledge, loan, trust given on the condition that something will be returned (Stack, 1974, p. 34). If one of their kin did not return the service offered, then they were no longer part of the same kin-network (Stack, 1974, p. 34). This is considered a disadvantage among people in these communities because “swapping” is their main mode of survival. In the chapter on “swapping”, Stacks gives an example of what happens when one gives but does not receive in their kin-network. She mentions that people are judged harshly which promotes gossip and, as a result, will stop giving to that kin (Stack, 1974, p. 34). The more one trusts and gives, the more social networks one creates in the community and the …show more content…
In Carol Stacks article, she mentions that as a result of poverty and lack of high social-economic status, people from these communities have to trade and give away their scarce recourses (Stack, 1974, p.33). According to Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s argument discussed in class, this is because these types of African-American communities they exhibit certain attitudes like the inability to plan their future (Fox, 2015). Therefore, they are in these positions of poverty (Fox, 2015). Inability to plan ones future, leads to the unlikelihood that one will get upper years worth of education and persistent employment (Fox, 2015). These types of behaviors are producing alternative family patterns and set of relationships such as “swapping” that separates them from a nuclear-family unit (Fox 2015). He argues that this set of family patterns is passed onto children who pass it onto further generations and, therefore, it becomes a cycle of poverty (Fox, 2015). Another reason why the nuclear-family unit is not viable in the African-American community is because the communities are mainly single mothers supporting their children (Stack, 1974, p. 33). This is because social-economic pressures on male and female relationships are huge and therefore relationships between young, unmarried adults are unstable (Stack, 1974, p. 50).